“Fishermen will be able to make up some of the lost money by fishing the areas that were left open,” said Fletcher of the Sportfishing Association of California. “The bad news is that there are fewer areas for fishermen to choose from, and that means there will be more pressure on those areas left open.”

Gauger, the sportfishing manager, said the actual financial hit will depend on factors that heavily influence fish populations, including ocean currents and temperatures.

“So much of fishing is condition-driven,” he said. “What's the best area this month or this week or even in three days will be completely different in the next period.”

Environmentalists such as Kaitilin Gaffney of the Ocean Conservancy in Santa Cruz are pushing the blue-ribbon panel to adopt the most aggressive conservation plan.

Increasing the number and size of marine animals, she said, will help stabilize a fishing industry that has watched revenue fall sharply over the past two decades because of overfishing and other factors that have eroded fish populations.

“Opponents fail to take into account the benefits of marine protected areas and the further harm to declining fisheries that will occur if they are not established,” Gaffney said. “In the long run, protections are good for fish and for fishermen.”